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Advanced Disposal Continues on the Acquisition Path with Earth First Buy

Advanced Disposal made its third waste hauler acquisition in a matter of days, with the purchase of Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Earth First LLC for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition takes the Ponte Vedra, Fla.-based Advanced Disposal into a new market. The deal includes a hauling facility, transfer station, and commercial and residential customers in Indiana’s Allen County, according to a news release.

“This acquisition strengthens our existing Indiana footprint, providing the company with a new market entry to fuel growth and drive internalization utilizing the existing transfer station to efficiently and safely transport waste materials for final disposal at our Hoosier Landfill in Claypool (Indiana),” said Dave Lavender, vice president for Advanced Disposal. “New market expansion is exciting on multiple fronts, as it becomes a springboard for greater opportunity and talent acquisition.”

In the last week Advanced Disposal announced it has purchased two other waste and recycling haulers–Webb Waste Inc. of Macon, Ga., and Ball Ground, Ga.-based AC Sanitation, Inc. From Webb it obtained front-end loading and roll-off commercial customers in Georgia’s Bibb County. Advanced Disposal’s purchase of AC Sanitation includes commercial and residential customers in Georgia’s Cherokee County.

The latest purchase, of Earth First, is the 13th hauler acquisition by Advanced Disposal in 2015. Other recent purchases included Williams Sanitation Services LLC, based in Dubois, Pa.; Smethport, Pa.-based waste company CF Burdick Trucking; the Decatur, Ill.-based Ross Disposal Services; and Disposal Management Systems Inc., based in Schaumburg, Ill.

Advanced Disposal issued in August an initial public offering (IPO) to go public. Industry analyst Michael E. Hoffman, managing director, Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. Inc., shared in an interview with Waste360 his thoughts on what he thought the move could mean. Hoffman says he believes the move is being pushed by the private equity team because they need to start getting the long process of monetizing their investment.

He also says the IPO could get Advanced Disposal’s balance sheet to a place where there isn’t any deal the company couldn’t be involved in. Currently, Hoffman says, the leveraged balance sheet presents some restrictions.